Despite the tendency for Democrats, especially Liberals, to describe Barack Obama as always being “the smartest person in the room,” I think time and circumstances have shown that observation to be more than a bit of wishful thinking. In the case of Newt Gingrich, however, it’s usually true. I make this point because I want an intelligent President, as you likely do as well. But I want a President who is more than just intelligent. Intelligence without an ethical and moral framework gets you the likes of Adolf Hitler.

Before you get all upset that I am comparing either Barack Obama or Newt Gingrich to Hitler, let me say, “No I’m not.”  I am simply making the point that given the fragile and transitory time we are living through, we had better be as concerned about character as we are about brain power.

It didn’t surprise me recently that Bill Clinton had good things to say about Newt Gingrich. I suspect they have a fondness for one another born of empathy. They are each intelligent, immoral and unethical. They have both said what is expedient and politically necessary, at any given time, to enhance their own standing. The have both publicly, and with arrogance, mocked their marriage vows and humiliated their wives. Bill Clinton may have given us a good economy, but he lowered the national moral/ethical bar to a new low. When I think of Newt Gingrich as President, I say to myself “No thanks. Been there. Done that.”

What we need is balance. We need it in every facet of our personal and professional lives. We need it in healthcare, finance and governance. We certainly need it in our leadership.

I have not made up my mind as to who I support or who I would vote for. But I look at the current possibilities and I see a few certainties. Barack Obama is incompetent and perhaps dangerously so. Herman Cain is history; Newt Gingrich is Bill Clinton revisited; Ron Paul is scary on international policy; Mitt Romney is very controlled and packaged…maybe a bit too much for my taste. Rick Perry says some very dumb things and does not seem large enough (figuratively) for the responsibilities that come with the office; John Huntsman has foreign policy and domestic executive leadership experience but seems a bit too idealistic for the practicalities of the job; Michele Bachman, while courageous and ethical, also seems to be lacking in “weightiness” (although I would so like to have the right woman in the job!).

At the moment, that leaves Rick Santorum.

When I examine Santorum’s public record, his personal life and listen to him articulate his current positions on the issues confronting us, I remain impressed. I think he is the balanced candidate that holds the most promise for a new direction, certainly one that is founded and grounded by experience, ethics and morality.

We are yet a long way off but the field narrows from here…unless some unexpected and unprecedented event or individual intervenes. For the moment, each of us should be asking ourselves, “Which individual will bring balance and integrity to a reality that has so lost its way?”

For me, as I write this, it’s Rick Santorum.

 

 

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